“Chinese from the waist down” - Israel Adesanya rocks red shorts for UFC 293 media day photoshoot, triggers ‘Chinese’ hysteria among MMA fans

Israel Adesanya is gearing up to put his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland in the headline bout of UFC 293, scheduled for September 10, 2023, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

'The Last Stylebender' will be wearing red trunks for the first time in his UFC career at UFC 293. The fight gear was showcased in a recent media day photo shoot.

Check out the video below:

The choice of trunk color sparked discussions among fight fans when it was unveiled. Israel Adesanya has faced criticism in the past, from 'Tarzan' for his close ties to the People's Republic of China.

One fan wrote:

"My Chinaman!"

Another wrote:

"Red for 🇨🇳"

Check out some more reactions below:

"Chinese from the waist down"

"He’s embracing the Chinese Champion memes LMAOOOO"

"Strickland bout to be the representative of Australia😂"

"THE CHINESE CHAMPION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN"

"My favorite Chinese fighter"

"Izzy vs Zhang for the undisputed Chinese champion no more questions"

"Izzy in the red and gold befitting a Chinese champion 😭"

Credits: @UFC on X and Instagram

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What is the nature of Israel Adesanya's affiliation with China?

The saga began when Sean Strickland referred to Israel Adesanya as "Chinese" during an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast back in July. This sparked curiosity among fans about Adesanya's ties to China, particularly after a video of the UFC middleweight champion proudly holding a Chinese flag went viral.

Before entering the UFC scene, Adesanya ventured into kickboxing and spent a portion of his career in China, where he earned the nickname 'The Black Dragon'. The 34-year-old Nigerian-New Zealander even made a splash in Chinese commercials to boost his income.

In a YouTube video in May, Adesanya provided an explanation regarding the promo:

"I grabbed a random baby. and when they came off the hook, I grabbed it off from the dad. So I’m like the thing goes, my family in China blah blah blah.. it looks like I’m like part of this Chinese man, and I’m grabbing the baby...I feel like it’s just kind of funny, I see some of it not too much of it but some of it, and I’m like.. ahh that’s right but aye man, I made money."

Check out Adesanya's comments below: